Cloud computing relates to sharing of computing resources that are generally accessed via the Internet. In particular, cloud computing infrastructure allows users to access a shared pool of computing resources, such as servers, storage devices, networks, applications, and/or other computing-based services. By doing so, users, such as individuals and/or enterprises, are able to access computing resources on demand that are located at remote locations in order to perform a variety of computing functions that include storing and/or processing computing data. For enterprise and other organization users, cloud computing provides flexibility in accessing cloud computing resources without accruing up-front costs, such as purchasing network equipment and investing time in establishing a private network infrastructure. Instead, by utilizing cloud computing resources, users are able redirect their resources to focus on core enterprise functions.
In today's communication networks, examples of cloud computing services a user may utilize include software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) technologies. SaaS is a delivery model that provides software as a service rather than an end product. Instead of utilizing local network or individual software installations, software is typically licensed on a subscription basis, hosted on a remote machine, and accessed as needed. For example, users are generally able to access a variety of enterprise and/or information technology (IT) related software via a web browser. PaaS acts as an extension of SaaS that goes beyond providing software services by offering customizability and expandability features to meet a user's needs. For example, PaaS can provide a cloud-based developmental platform for users to develop, modify, and/or customize applications and/or automate enterprise operations without maintaining network infrastructure and/or allocating computing resources normally associated with these functions.
Within the context of cloud computing solutions, support personnel utilize the cloud-based developmental platform with customized enterprise applications to provide support services to an enterprise on a daily basis. Getting insight into how those services are performing is difficult and may involve processing large amounts of data, exporting the data to spreadsheets, and extracting insights. To obtain these insights regularly, an enterprise may rely on monthly reports to measure performance long after anything can be done to correct an issue causing performance roadblocks. Performance analytics in the context of cloud computing solutions providing support services involves automating the process of extracting insights and generating reports to enable stakeholders to improve service management on a daily basis instead of waiting for monthly reports.